Our Team

Gael Strack, Esq., is the CEO of Alliance for HOPE International and oversees the Alliance’s Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. She is a former prosecutor and the founding Director of the San Diego Family Justice Center. She spearheaded much of the initial work and research on strangulation crimes from a prosecutor’s perspective.

Casey Gwinn, Esq., is the President of Alliance for HOPE International and oversees the Alliance’s Camp HOPE Initiative. He is the former elected City Attorney of San Diego and founder of the nationally recognized Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Unit of the City Attorney’s Office in 1988 and the San Diego Family Justice Center in 2002.

Karly is a Program Assistant for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a dual Bachelors’ in Sociology and Legal Studies and went on to get her Masters’ of Public Administration from San Diego State University. She previously worked as an advocate with Human Trafficking survivors and incorporates her experience in direct service work in her position at the Institute.

Patricia Middleton is a Program Assistant for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. Before joining the Alliance team she completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Arizona State where she majored in Sociology. While completing her degree she worked as a Victim Witness Advocate, specializing in Domestic Violence as well as Child Assault cases. In addition to advocacy, she worked as a certified Child Forensic Interviewer conducting interviews with children ranging from 4-16 years old who had been victims of a crime. She brings a unique perspective and specialized training from her direct work with victims.”